


Run away, turn away, fly away

by Vampiric_Charms



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Some angst, coping with war
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:33:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27956195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vampiric_Charms/pseuds/Vampiric_Charms
Summary: Attempting to reconnect in the midst of tumultuous galactic upheaval isn’t without challenges, but Bo-Katan and Ahsoka find the time every so often.  Easier said than done, though, even when the breeze is so warm and the companionship so comfortable.  Exhaustion spares no one.
Relationships: Bo-Katan Kryze & Ahsoka Tano, Bo-Katan Kryze/Ahsoka Tano
Comments: 10
Kudos: 69





	Run away, turn away, fly away

**Author's Note:**

> Set not long after the Empire took Mandalore, but your guess is as good as mine. If you all have any requests for these two, please let me know! I have a few more ideas but I'd love to keep contributing to this rare-pair as long as I can.
> 
> Enjoy!

Lush undergrowth crushed beneath Bo-Katan’s feet as she made her way to the grassy clearing ahead. Dantooine was warm this time of year, and she had left her shuttle near the city to walk the rest of the way to their meeting point. The exercise was welcome, after so many weeks cooped up without any way to release her growing frustrations - though the sweat dripping under her armor was not quite as agreeable. 

The treeline thinned and Bo-Katan saw Ahsoka’s profile in the middle of the field, sitting in the tall grass with her eyes closed, face turned upward to the clear blue sky. Meditating.

She knew Ahsoka felt her coming, or whatever it was her Jedi mind told her, and she pulled her helmet off as she broke through to the clearing. A sweet-smelling breeze lifted her hair, and she sighed as it took some of the sweat off the back of her neck. 

Ahsoka glanced over her shoulder at her approach, one eye open and a grin pulling her lips. Bo-Katan raised a hand in greeting. “Sorry I’m a little late,” she said, thighs parting the thick green grass as she made her way over.

Ahsoka’s smile widened, looking up at the sky again for a brief moment and then back to Bo-Katan as she sat beside her. Ahsoka didn’t say anything, and Bo-Katan proceeded to peel off her bracers and pauldrons, followed by her breastplate and jetpack. She laid them in the grass with her helmet, relieved to let the fresh air cool her body through her thin undershirt after the hike.

“Have you been waiting long?” she asked Ahsoka.

“No,” Ahsoka replied, and then she reached out to touch Bo-Katan’s arm. “It is very good to see you.”

Bo-Katan returned her smile with a crooked one of her own. It had been a while since they had been together, as they both played their new roles in the galaxy - Ahsoka as an integral force in the Resistance and Bo-Katan slowly building her resources to one day take back her home. They communicated as often as they could, sending brief personal updates and always letting one another know their current locations, but they’d not had an in-person meeting in far too long. 

Bo-Katan missed her friend, even if she could not exactly say the words. Ahsoka still knew, regardless. Of course she did.

Ahsoka draped her arms across Bo-Katan’s shoulders, leaning in close for a tight, fierce hug. Bo-Katan put a hand on Ahsoka’s back, holding her just as tightly and easily giving in to the touch without complaint. Ahsoka was the only person in the universe Bo-Katan would allow to touch her like this, and she found she didn’t dislike it too much.

Satine, perhaps, back when they were still children on Mandalore. Yes. Satine had hugged her all the time, grabbed her hand and doted on her with all the affection an older sister could have, before Bo-Katan ruined it all.

“I have something for you,” Bo-Katan said, ceasing her wandering thoughts before she could dwell too much on her sister. Such memories always upset her; best not to think them at all.

Ahsoka pulled back, arms still about Bo-Katan’s shoulders. There was an excited gleam in her bright blue eyes. “Really?”

Bo-Katan shifted a little, leaning to the side so she could reach into the satchel attached to her belt. She rummaged around, feeling for the jagged piece of metal she had shoved in there earlier. She pulled it out with a small flourish, holding it delicately between her fingers. Ahsoka held her hand out and Bo-Katan placed the piece on her palm.

Ahsoka studied it for a short moment and then her eyes darted up to catch Bo-Katan’s. “This is-”

“Beskar, yes,” Bo-Katan interrupted, feeling a small patch of color warm her cheeks. “It broke off my right pauldron.”

It wasn’t very large, just a chunk too small to reuse without reforging the entire piece it had come from - which Bo-Katan neither had the equipment nor the patience for. The top of the piece was still painted in chipping blue, with the very edge of her insignia’s circle along one side. This was the type of gift one only gave to a betrothed, or a beloved. 

Or, in this case, a very dear friend. Ahsoka may as well have been all of those things to her at this point, even if neither had discussed it directly.

Ahsoka held the piece up so the bright Dantooine sunlight gave the blue paint a pretty sheen that matched the full armor in the grass nearby. Bo-Katan was sure Ahsoka was wondering how it had chipped in the first place when beskar was so indestructible, though that was something she would keep to herself for now. No use worrying her with stories of attempted assassinations. She was alive, and they were dead.

“Thank you,” Ahsoka whispered, and Bo-Katan knew she understood exactly what a gift like this meant. Thankfully, though, Ahsoka did not say so out loud, saving Bo-Katan from the embarrassment of having to face it. “I’ll be sure to keep this safe.”

Bo-Katan watched quietly as Ahsoka turned the beskar over and over in her thin fingers before sliding it into a hidden pocket in her tunic. A pleased little thrill went through her and she grinned to herself, ignoring the heat rising in her cheeks again. Easily played off as the sun burning her fair skin, surely.

“You look tired,” Bo-Katan observed after a comfortable moment of silence. 

Ahsoka laughed and shot her an amused look. “Really, Bo? I look tired? I wonder why, after fighting day and night to save the galaxy.”

“Shut up,” Bo-Katan snapped, but she was grinning regardless. 

Ahsoka shook her head and glanced upward when a fluffy cloud moved over the sun for a passing moment. The breeze picked up, rustling the grass and bringing the sweet scent of flowers to surround them. “I bet you’re pretty exhausted yourself. From what you’ve told me in your last few comms you’ve been working just as hard as I have.”

It was true, even if Bo-Katan didn’t outright agree. It was a moot discussion at that point, really, and there was no use going over the same ground again and again. Their time together was limited; Bo-Katan did not want to waste it on such mundane things as wars and revenge. Instead, she reached over Ahsoka for the dark grey cloak she had left in the grass. 

“Here,” she said, straightening her legs and putting the folded cloak in her lap like a pillow. “Lie down.”

Ahsoka looked at her incredulously. “You’re teasing me.”

“I am not!” Bo-Katan said, chuckling and lightly smacking Ahsoka’s shoulder. She patted the cloak in her lap, an invitation. “A tired Jedi is a useless Jedi. Lie down.”

Hesitating just a beat longer and studying her far too closely all the while, Ahsoka scooted her hips away enough to lie down onto her side and put her head in Bo-Katan’s lap. Almost immediately she sighed and her eyes fluttered, as if she was already drifting off. Bo-Katan didn’t exactly blame her. The very hint of relaxation was almost like a drug in their world of dangers at every turn. 

“The whole point of us being here right now is to spend time together,” Ahsoka grumbled, forcing her eyes open again and turning her head slightly to look up toward Bo-Katan’s face. 

Surprising herself and Ahsoka both, Bo-Katan reached down to run her hand in a soothing pass over the montral closest to her stomach. It was usually Ahsoka who initiated any kind of physical contact, and Bo-Katan nearly jerked her hand back when she realized what she was doing. She didn’t, and she made the pass again. That door had been blown off its hinges, apparently, rather than just cracked open. Far too late now. 

“We _are_ spending time together,” she said firmly, voice soft to hide the weight of emotion suddenly crushing against her chest. 

Ahsoka didn’t reply, still studying Bo-Katan’s face as the sweet breeze blew around them. She raised a hand and pressed it to Bo-Katan’s burning cheek. “You’ve been hurt,” she murmured sadly. 

It took a moment for Bo-Katan’s mind to change tracks enough for her to remember the fresh cut on her cheek where Ahsoka’s fingers were gently prodding. “A few days ago,” she said with a casual shrug of one shoulder. “It’s already mostly healed.”

“Want me to get rid of it?”

An old suspicion gripped at Bo-Katan’s throat despite herself - and despite the absolute trust she had in Ahsoka - and she furrowed her eyebrows slightly at the mere hint of Jedi tricks being used on her. “What do you mean, get rid of it?”

Ahsoka met her eyes, understanding the hesitation she surely saw there. She dropped her hand and smiled softly at her, face serene and beautiful in the warm sunlight. “I can heal things like this,” she explained. “Side effect of my soul being merged with a Force being of pure Light a long time ago, I think.”

Bo-Katan didn’t reply, too taken aback by the answer she received to say anything of use. But Ahsoka clearly saw she was curious rather than repulsed at the proposed idea, and she touched a single finger to the cut. There was a cool tingling and then - nothing. Bo-Katan raised her hand when Ahsoka removed her finger and was met with fresh, unmarked skin. She hummed, pleasantly surprised.

“Are you going to tell me that story?” Bo-Katan asked, replacing her hand on Ahsoka’s montral without really thinking. “About being merged with a Force being?”

Ahsoka smiled up at her, her eyes glittering with barely contained laughter. “Do you want to hear it? I thought you disliked all mention of Jedi and the Force.”

“Oh, come on! You just used the Force on my kriffing face, do you really think I’d balk at a _story_ now? Fuck.” Bo-Katan rolled her eyes and gave an indignant huff, though she was more amused than anything at Ahsoka’s playful tone. 

She really had missed her friend.

Ahsoka rolled to her back, keeping her head in Bo-Katan’s lap, and crossed her arms loosely over her stomach. Bo-Katan watched her as she considered how to explain whatever ordeal she had been through so many lifetimes ago, and she mindlessly ran her fingers over Ahsoka’s head and back up the montral. Patiently awaiting her answer and pretending not to notice anything else bouncing around in her mind.

“You’re going to make me fall asleep,” Ahsoka told her with a yawn, but then she met Bo-Katan’s eyes above her. “Short version is basically that the three of us - my master, Master Kenobi, and myself - we were on a mission and got a little lost. We ended up inside a Force world of sorts and I met a pretty grim end there. My master saved me by being a conduit for the Force being to attach to my soul in exchange for her life.”

Bo-Katan let out a sharp breath, taking all of this at face value and knowing full well Ahsoka wasn’t making any of it up. “Right then,” she said with a touch of finality. “I never knew you led such an exciting life as a Padawan. What a shame you left it all behind.”

Ahsoka just chortled, reaching up to chuff Bo-Katan under her chin. “Now you _are_ making fun of me.”

But then what Ahsoka said really sunk in, and Bo-Katan frowned, gazing down at her as Ahsoka blinked slowly, starting to doze off already. She really was exhausted; it was obvious. Even still, Bo-Katan couldn’t help asking, “Does that mean that you died? Before the Force creature saved you?”

“What?” Ahsoka mumbled, bringing herself back from the edge of sleep. “Oh. Yeah, I guess.”

Bo-Katan didn’t say anything to that, trying to take heart from the fact that Ahsoka was clearly not dead. She was, in fact, falling asleep in Bo-Katan’s lap. But it was still saddening, in a distant kind of way, that Ahsoka could have died long before they met, that Bo-Katan could never have known the strength and ferocity of her friendship in this chaotic mess of a galaxy.

“Sleep,” she told Ahsoka softly, passing her hand over the montral again. It was an unnecessary appeal, as Ahsoka had already fallen into her dreams. And, even though there was no danger here, Bo-Katan whispered, “I’ll protect you.”

The warm Dantooine breeze lifted her hair as it shuffled the tall, sweet grass around them. Bo-Katan looked up at the bright blue sky, dotted with clouds that gave no threat of rain. Sun poured decadently around them, a perfect change from the stale light she lived with on her ship. It was beautiful here. Calm. Far away from all of their battles and all of their losses.

They may not have much time to spend together like this, but Bo-Katan would take every second she could.

She was a selfish woman, after all.


End file.
